The above invention relates to a toolholder for an automatic lathe.
Toolholders are already known from the prior art, consisting of a body receiving the tool to be used. The receiving body, together with the tool, is secured on a corresponding support of the automatic lathe.
The use of these known toolholders results in an improvement in the productivity of the machine; furthermore preset tools can be used, resulting in fast and very precise mounting of the tool in the machine.
As a result of the reduction in the machine setting-up times and a decrease in the idle time, which hitherto was unavoidable when changing the tool, a reduction in the downtime of the machine and hence greater use of the productive means is achieved.
In particular in the case of multiple-spindle lathes, in which 5 to 15 different tools are used, it is extremely important to be able to replace the numerous tools used in a minimum amount of time.
A rapid-change toolholder is already known, where positioning of the tools with respect to the workpiece to be machined is performed with the aid of a series of ground column-like supporting elements. The toolholder, which has correspondingly formed cavities, is brought into engagement with these column-like components.
On the machine-tool support, the known toolholders are clamped with the aid of clamping means oriented parallel to the axis of the workpiece to be machined, for example with the aid of the column-like components. Considering that, in this constructional form, both the column-like components and the clamping means are always oriented parallel to the axis of the workpiece to be machined, the drawback arises that during clamping of the toolholder, the toolholder inevitably becomes inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the workpiece to be machined. This results in considerable imprecision during machining of the workpiece with the cutting tool.
Furthermore, the known toolholders have the drawback that disassembly of the toolholder clamping means is possible only in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the workpiece, i.e. in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the lathe. This requirement, which arises during assembly and and disassembly of the toolholder, involves considerable drawbacks since auxiliary devices for the machine are provided laterally with respect to the toolholder supports and hinder the free and fast disassembly of the toolholders.